Saturday a Blast, Sunday a Bummer

Saturday's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup happenings at Charlotte were, alternately boring and exciting.

Sunday's major news event was a tragedy of epic proportions.

On Saturday, Matt Kenseth went large and won the Bank of America 500, while Jimmie Johnson made a massive mistake and wound up with a much shorter Lowe's Chevrolet than the one he started the race driving.

That put an exclamation point on the day, as Kenseth jumped to third in the points, just seven behind teammate Carl Edwards. Johnson dropped all the way to eighth, 35 points out of the lead. That's a 31-point swing in one race for Five-Time, and not a harbinger of good things with Talladega in the windscreen.

Johnson went from catbird seat to tail-end Charlie; he's the last driver among the 12 with a potential chance to catch back up. Ninth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr is 60 points back, and 12th-place Denny Hamlin is 86 points out.

Thanks for playing, 88, 11, 39 and 24...we have some lovely parting gifts.

The seventh-place guy, Kurt Busch, is 27 out, Brad Keselowski is sixth at 25 behind and Tony Stewart is fifth, 24 points in arrears. They can make a title run, barring catastrophe at 'Dega.

The guy you have to watch is fourth, 18 points back, and that's his car number, too. Kyle Busch has been steady, if not spectacular, and he's lurking. Kevin Harvick is five points out in second, and his nickname is The Closer. Personally, I like Kyra Sedgewick much more in that role, but that's me.

Sunday dawned hopeful and sunny. It ended dark and woe-begone. Dan Wheldon was killed in a crash at Las Vegas during the Indy Car season finale. Watching the Twitter timeline, it was clear that NASCAR drivers were watching...and wishing they weren't.

This might be a good time to remind everyone that this can happen every time a driver gets into the car, fires it up, cinches the belts down and hits the loud pedal.

That it hasn't, much, in the recent past is more evidence that NASCAR and the other racing groups are serious about safety. They're as safe as they can be, doing the things they do. The only way to ensure that no one ever dies in a crash during a race is...not to race.

It is my supposition that more lives are destroyed by football and other pro sports than in racing. The difference is, when racing drivers die, they do so in front of the cameras.

I've already heard the hue and cry about banning Indy Cars on certain tracks, limiting speeds and so on and so forth. I've heard it before and I have this to say in response: you cannot change the essence of the sport for safety's sake alone. Drivers go fast, they compete, and at the end, the best man (or woman) wins, or the best car. Period.

Banked tracks and speeds of 220-mph plus are dangerous, yes. So is I-485 in Charlotte. So is too much coffee or not enough food, depending on who you ask. The upshot is, it's a sport, the drivers know when they buckle up it could be The Day, and they make their peace with higher powers in that regard.

Rest in peace, Dan Wheldon. We'll miss your smile, your talent and your zest for life. Godspeed, young man.